All posts tagged ‘Doctor Who’

To celebrate the return of Doctor Who to BBC America on March 30, 2013, Broadway is giving one lucky GeekMom reader a package filled with Doctor Who books and Blu-rays.

April 2, 2013, marks the release of three new Doctor Who novels – Plague of the Cybermen, Shroud of Sorrow, and The Dalek Generation, published by Broadway.

Each novel was written specifically to coincide with the return of Doctor Who to television, and the 50th anniversary. They were written in collaboration with the BBC’s Cardiff-based television production team. The authors were given advanced access to the scripts of upcoming episodes and were given secrets about the Doctor’s future. Additionally, each novel has been approved by BBC to ensure nothing was overlooked.

One lucky GeekMom reader will receive the Doctor Who TARDIS library prize pack, courtesy of Broadway, which includes:

When the Doctor arrives in the 19th-century village of Klimtenburg, he discovers the residents suffering from some kind of plague – a ‘wasting disease’. The victims face a horrible death – but what’s worse, the dead seem to be leaving their graves. The Plague Warriors have returned…

The Doctor is confident he knows what’s really happening; he understands where the dead go, and he’s sure the Plague Warriors are just a myth. But as some of the Doctor’s oldest and most terrible enemies start to awaken he realises that maybe – just maybe – he’s misjudged the situation.

It is the day after John F. Kennedy’s assassination – and the faces of the dead are everywhere. PC Reg Cranfield sees his late father in the mists along Totter’s Lane. Reporter Mae Callon sees her grandmother in a coffee stain on her desk. FBI Special Agent Warren Skeet finds his long-dead partner staring back at him from raindrops on a window pane.

Then the faces begin to talk, and scream… and push through into our world.

As the alien Shroud begins to feast on the grief of a world in mourning, can the Doctor dig deep enough into his own sorrow to save mankind?

Tommy Donbavand is an author, actor, and playwright best known for his Scream Street novels for kids. He is also a huge fan of all things Doctor Who, plays blues harmonica, and makes a mean balloon poodle.

“The Sunlight Worlds Offer You A Life of Comfort and Plenty. Apply now at the Dalek Foundation.”

Sunlight 349 is one of countless Dalek Foundation worlds, planets created to house billions suffering from economic hardship. The Doctor arrives at Sunlight 349, suspicious of any world where the Daleks are apparently a force for good – and determined to find out the truth. The Doctor knows they have a far more sinister plan – but how can he convince those who have lived under the benevolence of the Daleks for a generation?

But convince them he must, and soon. For on another Foundation planet, archaeologists have unearthed the most dangerous technology in the universe…

Nicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer who has worked on Doctor Who since the 1980s. He has played numerous roles on the show but is best known as the voice of the Doctor’s archenemy, the Daleks.

In the new rebooted series from BAFTA-winning writer Steven Moffat (Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Tintin, Sherlock, Coupling), the Doctor has regenerated into a brand-new man, but danger strikes before he can even recover. Matt Smith debuts as the new, Eleventh incarnation of the famous Time Lord alongside a new travelling companion, the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). Amy and the Doctor explore time and space, visiting 17th century Venice, France during the 1890s and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space. As always, wherever the Doctor goes, his oldest enemies are never far behind — the Daleks are hatching a new master plan from the heart of war-torn London in the 1940s. But they are not the only strange creatures the Doctor and Amy must face — there are also alien vampires, humanoid reptiles, old enemies such as the Weeping Angels, and a silent menace that follows Amy and the Doctor around wherever they go. This 6-disc set includes all 13-episodes from this thrilling series plus two exclusive new scenes, Doctor Who: Confidentials, outtakes and much more.

Penned by award winning lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat (Sherlock, The Adventures of Tintin) and starring BAFTA nominee Matt Smith, the first part of the sixth series premiered on BBC America this spring and garnered record ratings for the channel. In addition, it earned rave reviews, including an “A” and a spot on “The Must List” from Entertainment Weekly, was featured on NBC’s Today show and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and over 6,500 fans packed Comic-Con’s Doctor Who panel where stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan made their first SDCC appearance together. The sixth season includes a two-part premiere that was set and filmed in the U.S. as well as an episode penned by long-time Doctor Who fan and award-winning writer Neil Gaiman (Coraline, Neverwhere, The Sandman). This must-own release for all sci-fi fans contains every thrilling episode from the widely-acclaimed sixth season along with the 2010 Christmas Special starring Michael Gambon (Harry Potter), A Christmas Carol, and a plethora of bonus features including exclusive Meanwhile in the Tardis scenes, Doctor Who Confidential, Monster Files, and Audio Commentary.

Doctor Who returns, after a record-breaking season on BBC America, with five new blockbuster episodes in the first half of Series Seven. Join the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy and Rory (Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, aka “the Ponds”) on their latest escapades through space and time. Featuring an asylum full of Daleks, a spaceship full of dinosaurs and a town called Mercy in the Wild West, this explosive series concludes with Amy and Rory’s heart-breaking farewell – a race against time through the streets of Manhattan. Will the Doctor really lose the Ponds forever? There’s only one way to find out. Bonus features include the BBC America specials The Science of Doctor Who and Doctor Who at Comic-Con, as well as the Pond Life featurettes, the prequel to Asylum of the Daleks, and The Making of The Gunslinger.

To enter:

Leave a comment letting me about your favorite Doctor Who episode. Only one comment per person. Residents of Canada and the United States only.

When leaving a comment, please use a valid email address so that I can notify the winner. Accounts linking to Facebook, Twitter, or another service, will not be counted. If your Disqus account is linked to another service, please sign out before replying. If you fail to enter your email address, your comment will not be counted.

Giveaway closes Friday, March 29, 2013 at 11:59 PM PST. At that time, I’ll use a random number generator to choose the winner. The winner will be notified by email on March 30, 2013. The winner will have 24 hours to reply to the email. If the winner does not respond, then I’ll choose another winner. After I receive a response from the winner, the winner will be announced on GeekMom.

This year promises all sorts of Doctor Who goodness, what with the anticipation of the 50th anniversary episode in November. And about a month ago I started thinking about throwing a Doctor Who party for friends and family in an effort to celebrate all things, well, Whovian. In pondering food options, all I could think of were banana daiquiris, fish fingers and custard. Unfortunately, those three items don’t really make a dinner party particularly interesting. When searching Amazon.com, however, I came across Chris-Rachael Oseland’s recently published Dining With The Doctor: The Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook.It sounded like just the thing.

Chris-Rachael Oseland Image from Amazon.com

Chris-Rachael Oseland is a geek and tech writer by day for The Austin Post, and a geek culinary blogger by night. Oseland, author at Kitchen Overlord, was reintroduced to Doctor Who during the David Tennant years by her best friend, Anne, who insisted that she go back and watch from the beginning of the reboot. Being a freelance writer, and having independently published a book of steampunk cocktails SteamDrunks, she used Amazon’s CreateSpace to publish this second fan-focused cookbook. Independent publishing seemed to be the best route for this particular cookbook, as it allowed the book to be published within a year–in time for the 50th anniversary celebration instead of multiple years of back and forth with a publishing company. Oseland’s books are printed on demand, she receives a higher percentage per book from CreateSpace, there is less worry of running out of stock or being able to afford a first run. She recommends it as a great service for independent authors.

Dining with The Doctor: The Unofficial Whovian Cookbook might be one of the most entertaining cookbooks a Whovian could imagine. The book is set up as a recipe per episode, recapping important plot points and relating the dish to each episode either by featured food, featured alien, or some other obvious method. Let me warn you that unless you are at least remotely interested in Doctor Who, this isn’t the cookbook for you. There are no earth-shattering recipes in search of a James Beard award, the photography is all done in-home, and while I might tweak some ingredients in the recipes(Q-tips as food garnish?) the book is so much fun that I rarely noticed the downsides. Oseland has taken a lot of time to minimize the number of major allergens (peanuts and shellfish) in her recipes while still providing a large variety of choices for vegetarian, vegan and low carb diets.

BLT's have never been quite so interesting! Dalek Ironside Toast Sandwich

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

Looking for a creative way to serve fish fingers and custard? Try the Fish Custard Tacos, where the "custard" comes from a combination of mango salsa and honey mustard dressing. Oseland provides a whole section of alternative ways to recreate the fish fingers and custard combination for a more "American" palette.

Looking to make your easter egg hunt a bit more Whovian? Try the Slitheen Eggs, black tea dyed eggs that are so real, you might contemplate a trip to Raxacoricofallapatorius to find it a new home.

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

Throwing a fancy Doctor Who themed cocktail party to show off that new Tardis corset? Serve any of the 19 alcoholic drinks such as the Queen Victoria's Nightcap, a mixture of claret wine and whisky, and your friends will be partying like The Doctor in the 18th century french court.

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

BLT's have never been quite so interesting! Dalek Ironside Toast Sandwich

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

Looking for a creative way to serve fish fingers and custard? Try the Fish Custard Tacos, where the "custard" comes from a combination of mango salsa and honey mustard dressing. Oseland provides a whole section of alternative ways to recreate the fish fingers and custard combination for a more "American" palette.

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

Looking for a creative recipe for your next big family dinner? How about a TARDIS Wellington, its way easier to make then it seems, and far more impressive on the inside.

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

Have you always looked for the perfect packed lunch for those forest hikes or trips to the library? Take along a Vashda Nerada Detection Kit, you never know what is lurking in the shadows.

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

Looking to make your easter egg hunt a bit more Whovian? Try the Slitheen Eggs, black tea dyed eggs that are so real, you might contemplate a trip to Raxacoricofallapatorius to find it a new home.

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

Throwing a fancy Doctor Who themed cocktail party to show off that new Tardis corset? Serve any of the 19 alcoholic drinks such as the Queen Victoria's Nightcap, a mixture of claret wine and whisky, and your friends will be partying like The Doctor in the 18th century french court.

Image by: Chris-Rachael Oseland

A preview of Wood for Sheep: The Unauthorized Settlers Cookbook Image from kitchenoverlords.com with permission

The cookbook retails for $20 in paperback on Amazonor $5.99 for the electronic Kindle version. While I was provided a review copy of this book, I would have easily bought this for myself without prompting.

Oseland has a busy year ahead with two new cookbooks planned for release. In May, before the gaming season erupts at GenCon, she is releasing Wood for Sheep: The Unauthorized Settlers Cookbook, featuring tasty menus designed to resemble the famous game board and sure to please any Catan fan. This fall she plans to release the unofficial cookbook to the Walking Dead series, promising deliciously gory treats for the die hard fan.

Her blog Kitchen Overlord, also features an illustrated series of geeky recipes called Edible Art. Working closely with artist Tom Gordon, she takes favorite fan foods and inspires visually delicious versions of the original recipes. She has so far featured dishes from Firefly, Once Upon a Time, Lost, and other massively popular sci-fi shows.

Oseland promises to continue her Doctor Who recipes, and expects to publish a second episode based cookbook for the reboots 10th anniversary in 2015.

We geeks love to imagine that there’s more to our planet than what we know to be true. Whether it’s wizards, superheroes, or time travelling aliens in police boxes, we like to imagine possibilities beyond our own. However when imagining these other Earth’s they need their own infrastructures too if we are to suspend our disbelief and allow ourselves to believe for a moment that they could really exist. Here then is the GeekMom guide to fictional government branches, military organizations, and United Nations agencies to help you decipher your MIB from your NID.

S.H.I.E.L.D. (also S.W.O.R.D. and S.T.R.I.K.E.) (Marvel Comics Universe)
S.H.I.E.L.D. (the acronym can stand for different things, most recently the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) is a secret, international intelligence agency that reports to the United Nations. It is both a covert agency and a quasi-military one with its headquarters aboard the Helicarrier, a flying aircraft carrier. S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps tabs on potential threats such as the Hulk and can organise strikes with military force when required. The agency has strong links with the superhero community whom it often employs during important missions, director Nick Fury often acting as a voice for superheroes to international governments.

Majestic 12 (The X-Files/Dark Skies etc*)
Majestic 12 (sometimes called MJ-12) is the codename given to a group of scientists, military leaders and government officials who were assembled to investigate the Roswell UFO crash in 1947. Majestic soon took over Area 51 in Nevada which was used as their base of operations as they used material recovered from the crash to build and test experimental aircraft. Majestic operatives also installed an actor named John Gillnitz as the President of Iraq under the pseudonym Saddam Hussein, in this position he would be able to create a distraction whenever one was needed.

UNIT (Doctor Who/Torchwood etc)
The United Intelligence Taskforce (formerly United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) is a military organisation that is funded by the United Nations; its task is both research and combat against paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to the Earth. UNIT was formed in 1968 in response to the Cyberman invasion, it can assume emergency powers when necessary with its members seconded from the country in question’s own military. UNIT’s powers mean it is often viewed with suspicion by the host country’s military and security agencies; it also has the authority to detain and hold individuals indefinitely without trial, outside contact, or legal representation.

Warehouse 13 (Warehouse 13/Eureka/Alphas – SyFy Channel Shared Universe)
Warehouse 13 is a small department currently within the US government; it is charged with locating, neutralizing and safely storing objects imbued with some form of paranormal power. The department is located an at enormous storage facility in South Dakota designed by Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and M.C. Escher (the Warehouse itself) however previous Warehouses have been located across the globe following a practice of establishing the Warehouse within the empire that is currently the most powerful on Earth. Warehouse 13 employs government agents who are recruited directly into the Warehouse for their special talents. Continue Reading “The GeekMom Guide to Fictional Military and Government Branches” »

Nicole Wakelin is heading to New York City where she will consume too many cupcakes and attempt to get some of that cool new MAC Archie make-up that hits shelves tomorrow.

Dakster Sullivan’s weekend will be consisting of a little bit of costuming (project Z as she is calling it) as well as some long overdue graphic novel reading. Between the X-Men and Wonder Woman, her weekend is booked.

Sarah is looking forward to a weekend watching The Octonauts with her son and pretending to be an underwater rabbit to his polar bear! She plans on attending sing-a-long-a Sound of Music on Friday night and expects to be voiceless for the rest of the weekend. A babysitter has been arranged for Saturday afternoon so that coffee and a good game of Stratego can be had by the adults in the Pinault house.

Kelly Knox is going to finally stop procrastinating and start knitting a Doctor Who scarf. Tom Baker’s scarf is the current “knit-along” project for the fantastic Facebook group Geeks United in Crafts, so it’s as a good a time as any to get started. Kelly is a novice at knitting, so she’s hoping the project will make her a better knitter. She expects to finish the 12 foot long scarf sometime in 2014.

Rebecca Angel is having fun interviewing people for some upcoming posts on tech companies and education. Meanwhile she is trying to stay organized for the children’s musical she is directing within her homeschooling group called We Haz Jazz, all about the history of jazz with fun music. Wish her luck!

Brigid is working on The Raven illustrations. She’s developed a new technique she’s calling faux daguerreotype that she recently employed to paint Edgar Allan Poe.

Yesterday BBC America announced details of a Doctor Who made-for-tv movie that it is filming this year in celebration of the famous shows 50th anniversary. As was commissioned in August of 2012, An Adventure in Time and Space will detail the earliest years of the Doctor Who empire from its creation through its initial filming with William Hartnell. The movie is a co-production by BBC America and BBC Cymru Wales. The script was written by Mark Gatiss, co-creator of hit BBC show Sherlock.

David Bradley Image: BBC

The iconic first Doctor will be played by Harry Potter actor David Bradley. I’m sure I’m not the first to be surprised by the casting choice, only time will tell if the crotchety Argus Filtch can play the charismatic Doctor that we all know. When asked about his upcoming role Bradley said, “I’m absolutely thrilled. I first heard about this role from Mark while watching the Diamond Jubilee flotilla from the roof of the National Theatre. When he asked if I would be interested, I almost bit his hand off! Mark has written such a wonderful script not only about the birth of a cultural phenomenon, but a moment in television’s history. William Hartnell was one of the finest character actors of our time and as a fan I want to make sure that I do him justice. I’m so looking forward to getting started.”

Shooting is scheduled to start early next month for air later this year. If I were to make an educated guess, it will air sometime around the 50th anniversary of the first Doctor Who episode, November 23, 1963.

Every decade since the inception of Doctor Who there has been some sort of anniversary special that pays homage to the previous Doctors.

It’s no secret this year there is a big 50th anniversary special in the works. There has been a lot of speculation about what this special will include, but everyone has hoped that it would feature all the living actors that have ever played the Doctor. While many of the actors are all too willing to play the Doctor again, Christopher Eccelston has been a lone hold out, claiming that he had no plans to return to the role.

Everyone’s lips are sealed of course but we do know that there is no plans to feature former companions; Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), Rose Tyler(Billie Piper), Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), Martha Jones(Freema Agyeman) and Donna Noble(Catherine Tate). There is still some speculation as to whether the Doctor’s wife, River Song (Alex Kingston), will be the one who brings all of the Doctor’s together against the eleventh Doctor’s wishes. This anniversary special is going to be epic! I’m already planning my Doctor Who themed party for it!

The 50th anniversary special will not be the first time that the Doctors have joined forces. The 10th anniversary, in 1973 was celebrated with “The Three Doctors“. The 20th anniversary, in 1983, featured “The Five Doctors“. Even thought the 30th anniversary occured after the show had been cancelled, McCoy, Pertwee, Tom Baker, Davison and Colin Baker starred in a charity crossover episode of EastEnders. The 40th anniversary was marked with an audio adventure, Zagreus, starring McGann, Colin Baker, McCoy and Davison with additional archive recordings of Pertwee.

If any of Moffat’s previous writing has anything to say about his dedication to Doctor Who, this episode is guaranteed to impress!

Update: It seems the original sources for writing this were more rumor then confirmed fact and I’ve edited the article to reflect that. However, as a gift I found out that according to the BBC banner at the 2013 London Toy Fair new details about the 2013 season have been released.

When I decided to pick up my camera to earn a few extra bucks to pay bills while I stayed at home with my boys, I always wanted to focus on geeks. I wanted to set-up photo booths at geek conventions for folks to get pics of their costuming at conventions. I wanted to get pictures of little kids geeking out over a comic book or their favorite superhero. I wanted to find a pregnant geek who wanted to paint Chuthlu (or pie charts) on their belly. I wanted to be a geeky photographer for geeks. Well, in an effort to bring in even a single client a month, I didn’t turn away any potential client. I was, however, always on the lookout for that amazing geeky shoot.

Last week, I finally got a chance to do exactly what I wanted in a Doctor Who themed shoot and I was ecstatic!

Very good friends of mine asked me to take their daughter’s annual birthday pictures, normally they go to a chain studio and get a very generic picture. This year, they knew that I was doing a bit of photography, so they asked if I’d be interested. Of course I agreed! I like to make each shoot a little different, give each one a bit of personality. When I thought about this 9-year-old girl’s shoot, there was no question as to the theme, she had to have a Doctor Who themed shoot.

Together we pulled together some of the fandom items laying around our respective houses and headed out for a shoot that was easily my favorite family shoot.

The resulting images are just some of the amazing images that I captured of this young geek and her awesome parents.

In the jewellery world, charm bracelets are the in thing right now with Pandora leading the way in the “must have name brand” stakes. Thing is for many of us geekier ladies that Pandora’s range of traditional charms just don’t quite speak to us. Sure, waving kittens, sparkly crowns, and hearts are all very lovely, but some of us would prefer a Triforce, Companion Cube, or TARDIS. There are companies out there making geeky charms that fit these bracelets (ThinkGeek have launched their own range which includes an official Companion Cube charm) but if you want to keep your Pandora bracelet limited to only official charms, or like me have severe metal allergies and are wary of other brands which could trigger a reaction, then here are some ideas to geek up your Pandora bracelet.

FireflyWhat we’d love to see: Serenity herself would make for an awesome charm if the currently available airplane is anything to go by. Otherwise a dangling replica of Mal’s pistol, a brightly painted parasol or a little Jayne hat could all be fun.

What you could choose now: There’s not much out there that could work for Firefly so options are limited. My choice would be the strawberry, however if you could lay your hands on one then the discontinued 14ct gold and wood charm bears a passing resemblance to Serenity’s logo.

This week GeekMom Nicole Wakelin talks Doctor Who with her co-host from The Whoniverse podcast, Michael Gaines. Fans of The Doctor got so many new things in the Christmas special. There was a new companion, a new TARDIS and even a new intro for the series. Of course, in typical Doctor Who fashion, no one quite knows what’s going on so Michael and Nicole try to sort out the facts. Join them for a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey Doctor Who discussion.

Despite my protests, summer always leaves eventually. I live in the southern US, so I can pretend for a long time, but come January, I have to face it. It’s just plain cold. There are only two ways to make that better: gingerbread lattes, which leave after Christmas, and funky tights, which are always your friend. Here are a few of my favorites.

… of course, as any X-Files fan who was able to follow the convoluted mythology into the ninth season will be able to tell you, your problems are just beginning. You see, according to the Cigarette Smoking Man, December 22nd 2012 is the day alien colonization of Earth begins. Super Soldiers, Black Oil and Faceless Men might be coming to your city any time, so how do you go about surviving an alien invasion? We’ve compiled a list of tips from many of our favorite films and TV shows to help you through this challenging time. Good luck!

Avoid Meteor Strike/Crash Sites (War of The Worlds) — If science fiction has taught us anything, it’s that inquisitive humans get incinerated first. Suspicious meteor crash site nearby? Get as far away from it as possible.

Avoid Communication Efforts/Peace Talks(Mars Attacks, Monsters vs Aliens, Independence Day) – It seems natural that world governments will attempt to open some sort of dialogue with alien invaders, whether that’s by flying a specially equipped helicopter around in front of their ship or opening face-to-face peace talks if the aliens are willing to communicate. It is highly likely that these will be be a trap to gather many of our leaders together; as historical an event as it will be, stay away.

Avoid Iconic Structures (Independence Day, Doctor Who, Futurama) – No matter where you live, your nation’s iconic structures are almost certainly going to be destroyed in the first wave of violence. Being near any one of these puts you at risk from falling debris and shrapnel.

The British Film Institute (BFI) has announced plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who with a year-long calendar of events throughout 2013. The events will span every incarnation of the Doctor, from William Hartnell to Matt Smith, and will feature special guests, exclusive screenings and special previews.

The first event of the year is set for January 12th when the first ever episode of Doctor Who: The Unearthly Child will be shown. Febuary and March’s events have also been confirmed with Patrick Troughton’s Tomb of The Cybermen and Jon Pertwee’s The Mind of Evil (now color restored except for episode one which had to be colorized instead) coming to the BFI’s Southbank; however, the special guests for these events have yet to be finalized. During the rest of the year, each Doctor will have a chance to shine in his own special event featuring a classic story from his era. The year’s events will climax in November with a preview of An Adventure in Time and Space, a new drama penned by Mark Gatiss that tells the story of the genesis of Doctor Who.

The events promise to make for an exciting year for Doctor Who fans able to travel to London (it’s a shame that simultaneous screenings are not being set up in other cities both across the UK and abroad) as the 50th anniversary approaches. Tickets are available via the BFI website but be quick as the January event has already sold out as events prove to be incredibly popular.

You may not always think “sports fan” and “geek” in the same sentence, but Geeky Jerseys proves that sometimes it’s OK to cross the streams with their pop-culture-inspired hockey jerseys.

Run by Canadians, Rink Gear‘s founders grew up with hockey and wearing jerseys. “We wore them on the ice, to the mall (hell, I’d get married in one if my fiancee hadn’t threatened to knock my teeth out),” joked self-described “president/owner/jersey geek” Sean. (And that’s just Sean. “We like to keep it pretty relaxed, and our customers communicate with us on a first name basis,” he told me.) Having a jersey on so frequently meant they started to get obsessed with them. (And we all know that a consuming obsession is the mark of a geek!) That’s when it became a business, at first making jerseys for hockey teams. Then artists, such as Dave from davesgeekyhockey.com reached out to Rink Gear about a different kind of jersey. Or as Sean puts it, “We noticed it wasn’t only Kevin Smith that appreciated a rad-looking hockey jersey. So we split the company into two focuses: traditional hockey team jerseys and totally unique geeky jerseys.” And thus their newer site, GeekyJerseys.com, was born. Or as their About section so succinctly puts it: “Jerseys are much more than that — they’re the tuxedo of geeks… And that’s where it all started. A jock and a geek came together over an argument about the best looking jerseys, and how they could be improved.” Continue Reading “Geeky Jerseys: Where Sports Fan Meets Geek Fan” »

Doctor Who celebrates it’s fiftieth year in 2013. Last week saw the forty-ninth anniversary of it’s first episode, a mere twenty five minutes in which the Doctor was played by William Hartnell, age fifty-five. I have been watching avidly since Sylvester McCoy’s incarnation, and have dabbled in other seasons over the years.

There is something about Peter Davison’s Doctor, maybe it’s the attire, that I have a soft spot for, and I will forever love Tom Baker, the man who was only recently replaced by Matt Smith as my dad’s favorite Doctor. Having visited the old Doctor Who museum in Llangollen many times, I also have a fondness for Jon Pertwee. You cannot help it after actually getting to see Bessie in person.

For those of you who are Eccleston converts to the show, here are a few interesting tidbits from across fifty years that I hope will accentuate the enjoyment of the recent years.

In Christopher Eccleston’s first outing as the Doctor, he can be seen in a picture of the Kennedy assassination, an event that overshadowed the airing of the first episode forty-nine years ago last week.

For the show’s twentieth anniversary, a feature length special called The Five Doctors was created, featuring the first five doctors. However, William Hartnell had died several years earlier and so the original Doctor was played by Richard Hurndall, Hartnell appeared in the special through a clip of one of his last performances. Hurndall is not traditionally counted as one of the Doctors. Hartnell did appear in the tenth anniversary special, but his role was limited due to ailing health.

Until the casting of Matt Smith, Peter Davison was the youngest actor to play the aging Time Lord. He was thirty when he took the role.

In the original series it was hinted that the Doctor only had one heart, it was a spin off novel that suggested Time Lords only grow their second hearts during their first incarnation.

In the 1996 feature film, the Doctor, played by Paul McGann, comments that he is half human, this is often disregarded by purists. Suggestions offered by this are that his mother was on earth during his birth, that his past has been manipulated and that only the eight doctor was half human, or that he uses Time Lord technology to manipulate his DNA, much as the Master did in “Utopia.”

There have been thirty six official companions.

In “The Trial of a Time Lord”, Colin Baker’s Doctor is also presented under the name of “the Valeyard” and portrayed by Michael Jayston. This character was initially presented as another Time Lord but was later shown to be a potential Doctor from the future, a composite figure created between his twelfth and final incarnations and representing the dark side of the Doctor. The Valeyard attempted to steal the remaining regenerations but was defeated and so may never actually exist.

How many more Doctors do we have to look forward to? In the 1976 serial “The Deadly Assassin” it is said that Time Lords can regenerate twelve times and therefore have thirteen forms. In the 1969 serial “The War Games” it was said that Time Lords can live forever, “barring accidents.” In “Last of the Time Lords” the Master refuses to regenerate, incidentally he is at one point in the canon accused of “stealing” another Time Lords regenerations to extend his own life. In an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Matt Smith’s Doctor flippantly says he can regenerate 507 times. So how many more do we have to look forward to, really, who knows?

While you are in the mood for some Who pondering, take a look at these suggestions from British magazine SFX on forty-nine ways they think that the BBC could celebrate this auspicious occasion.

When I was a kid a toy gun was just that, a replica of a gun that – if you were very lucky — might make some sort of noise when you pressed the trigger. With the technology available today, toy guns have developed much further, and now augmented reality is becoming more common as a way to enhance the experience. This is the case with the new Doctor Who Appgear Anti-Time Device, which is linked to iPhone, iPod Touch or Android devices to create a first-person shooter experience in your own home. There is also a second version of the toy which does not include a smartphone dock and is a more traditional toy weapon.

Firstly, I have to admit that it’s a source of slight consternation to me that the Doctor Who franchise should produce a range of toy guns when the character himself is generally against the use of such items, but that’s a matter far above the remit of a simple toy review. It is worth noting that although these are “guns” they are not called as such anywhere on the packaging and they do not “kill” the enemies you target; instead the devices fire a gateway that sucks them into the Time Vortex — although whether a child would pick up on this subtlety is not entirely clear, especially on the non Appgear version.

The Appgear device works by connecting to your smartphone or iPod which is held securely by a padded clamp to create a view screen on which you will see your current environment in real time. You will need to first download the free Cleric Wars app in order to play; when you initially run the app you’ll get the back-story of the Cleric Army, how it came to be in the Doctor’s self-imposed absence and how they created the device you’re holding (a Q.L.A. – Quantum Lokk Accelerator – Anti-Time Device) from scavenged parts of Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels. The back-story is great and worth listening to even if you don’t buy the toy as the app is free, in fact you can even play the first level without buying the Q.L.A. device at all by tapping your finger to fire instead.

The National Archives of Scotland maintains the official register of plaid patterns known as “tartan” and their associated clans or groups in The Scottish Register of Tartans. Their mission is both to preserve history as well as to register newly designed tartans. This registry was formed as the official one in 2008, merging two unofficial registries, the Scottish Tartans World Register and the Scottish Tartans Authority. There are many tartans that are designated not for a clan, as commonly thought, but also for organizations, areas of land, and even companies. In that last category are an assortment of tartans that have been registered for fictional characters. Click on the character’s name in bold to see the picture of the fabric at The Scottish Register of Tartans.

Brave‘s DunBroch clan. For this year’s animated film Brave, Disney/Pixar registered the royal family’s tartan, which uses “the ocean blue of the North Sea” and “deep scarlet [that] represents the family’s reverence for its own history and the blood shed during battles between the clans. Deep green shows a love for Scotland’s majestic highlands.” The navy blue represents the forging of the clans, and the grey “imbues a sense of respect for the inner soul of the strong Scottish people.”

Our favorite fictional worlds are often fantastically full of fantasy flavors–some better than others. It’s hard to resist creating Earthly versions of them, so why fight it? Here are fourteen foods from fiction and ways to make them yourself, along with three you can find without much invention.

Lembas

Of the myriad Middle Earth munchies, lembas seems to be the most popular to recreate. (Maybe because “cram” is a less appealing name, especially when eating it is described as “a chewing exercise.”) Lembas, on the other hand, has a description similar to hard tack, a cracker sort of thing we don’t see much of in the US. Here’s a lembas recipe based on what we know about it. At the end of the experiment, you will be baked andthentherewillbe cake.

Fruity Oaty Bars

I wouldn’t fault you for printing Fruity Oaty Bar wrappers and putting them on your Clif bars. That seems reasonable, and less likely to have any ill effects from consuming Blue Sun products. But if you want to make your own, they tell us right there in the name that they likely contain something resembling fruit, something resembling oats, and are bar-shaped. How convenient! Even more convenient–a recipe using oats and the fruit puree of your choice. I invited your best friend, the Companion Cube. Of course, he couldn’t come because you murdered him.

Cake

Cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of the post. This is your fault. I’m going to kill you. And all the cake is gone. You don’t even care, do you?

Gagh

Leave it to the Klingons to name a delicacy with the sound a human is likely to make when eating it. Short of actually eating live worms (which I really don’t recommend, despite enjoying How to Eat Fried Worms), you can recreate the look with Jell-o Blood Worms. If your tongue is brave, try this recipe made with ginger and cocoa. And if you’re really yearning for the sensation, I think you could get close with casu marzu.Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman’s terms, speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out.

Spoo

Really? Really? You want to eat spoo? Babylon 5 fans are so weird. (I love you anyway.) How about some gnocchi spoo? It’s not worms, but we covered that particular taste with the gagh. Did you know you can donate one or all of your vital organs to the Aperture Science Self Esteem Fund for Girls? It’s true!

Food cubes

Dear Future,

Nutrition is important, but food is supposed to look good as well as taste good. Please remember this.

Love,
The present

I’m all about space travel, but you won’t see me spending long on any planet that thinks food cubes are a good idea. Claudia Black, who played Aeryn Sun on Farscape, says they used “hawanalis.” A poster on the RPF suggests that what she really meant was haw flake candy.That thing you burnt up isn’t important to me. It’s the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit; it makes shoes for orphans. Nice job breaking it, hero.

Popplers

The problems with popplers are plentiful, and not limited to MEAT protests. There’s the lack of transportation to Omicron Persei 8, the difficulty of eating animated food, and the fact that I can’t stop thinking about my fond 80s feelings for Popples. Searching for imitation recipes of this Futurama universe delicacy will yield you everything from seafood bites to hush puppies to chicken nuggets, so choose your favorite deep-fried, ball-shaped treat and sing along. You can pick ‘em, you can lick ‘em, you can chew ‘em, you can stick ‘em. If you promise not to sue us, you can shove one up your nose!” The Enrichment Center is required to remind you that the Weighted Companion Cube cannot talk. In the event that it does, ignore its advice.

Ice planets

Your food is problematic? Let us solve your problem! Make your own Firefly ice planets to torture your kids all afternoon. Anyway, this cake is great. It’s so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there’s science to do.

This just in, as of 6am BST (British Summer Time), the BBC has released the latest trailer for Doctor Who season seven. The season seven preview put out in March is also still available on BBCAmerica. If you have 90 seconds to be blown away by Daleks, Dinosaurs and Weeping Angels then get youself a bowl of popcorn right now. Better still, if you have ten minutes, watch it again and again, it’s just that fantastic.

The image released yesterday showing the Doctor and Amy surrounded by Daleks gave us one of our first glimpses of the upcoming season and it’s first offering “Asylum of the Daleks”. The Doctor is injured, Amy is unconscious it would seem, and the Daleks that surround them are from several eras of the Doctor’s past, not simply a single group and not confined to the post-Eccleston years.

In light of Mary Tamm’s death this week, I am drawn to revisit an issue that has long plagued me, and discuss her legacy as a female Time Lord, or Time Lady if you prefer. Matt Smith’s second outing as the Doctor kept to the promises of his first season, by going back to the roots of the character far more than Eccleston and Tennant ever did. Eccleston was the Doctor fresh from the time war, while Tennant was the Doctor finding his “humanity” again. Matt Smith was able to be the Doctor of old, a bit more wacky, a bit more unpredictable, far less brooding. It was an excellent season, with a finale that promises weird and unusual things for season seven.

There was one line however. One line, in a fantastic episode, “The Doctor’s Wife,” that made me reach for the pause button and begin yelling at my husband. One line that flew in the face of tradition, and consistency of story. When he receives a distress signal from a fellow Time Lord, the Doctor waxes poetic about the life of the Corsair. He refers to a tattoo that the Corsair added to his body upon each regeneration. At this point he refers to the Corsair having been a woman on occasion, “herself a couple of times, oh she was a bad girl.” Continue Reading “Why Doctor Who Can Cross Time and Space But Can Never Be a Woman” »

Mary Tamm who played female Time Lady Romana in Doctor Who has passed away aged 62; she passed away in a London hospital after a long battle with cancer.

Mary played Romana alongside the Fourth Doctor played by Tom Baker. She only played the character for a single season as she believed the character had become a “traditional” assistant to the Doctor and could not be developed much further. She was replaced by actress Lalla Ward who played the character after she regenerates, however Mary was not invited to film a regeneration scene for the show. Romana was one of only two members of the Doctor’s species to travel with him, the second being his granddaughter Susan Foreman – however she was never explicitly stated to be a Time Lady.

After Doctor Who, Mary played leading roles in several BBC dramas and later became a recurring character in the British soap opera Brookside. She appeared in dozens of roles across television, film, and stage until recently; her autobiography First Generation was published in 2009 and at the time of her death she was working on the part two.

Both Tom Baker and Colin Baker (who played the Sixth Doctor) have expressed their sadness over Mary’s death. She leaves behind a husband, daughter, and seven year old grandson along with countless Doctor Who fans who will remember her iconic role in the show.